From the Philippines: Encouraging Children’s Literacy in Mindanao
By Dr. Steven Rood and Mr. Reynald S. Ocampo
Dr. Steven Rood is the The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in the Philippines; Reynald S. Ocampo, is the Assistant Program Officer for Books For Asia in The Asia Foundation’s office in the Philippines.
On Friday, September 7th 600 children’s books will be presented to daycare centers in Davao City. The books are being donated by The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program to needy child-care centers in cooperation with The Kiwanis International Philippine South District. Since 2004, The Asia Foundation has partnered with The Kiwanis International Philippine South District to deliver 65,000 books to 1,500 schools to spread literacy throughout the Visayas and Mindanao region.
Kiwanis clubs identify learning institutions in each accessible village and deliver books donated by U.S. publishers to public elementary schools, high schools, public libraries, and daycare centers. The broad network of Kiwanis Clubs dedicated to education programs ensures that the donated books reach learning centers in every village. The Kiwanis work directly with educators to select the materials and they then coverthe cost of book distribution. Monitoring and evaluation are done also by Kiwanis Clubs to check the status of books and that the needs of the recipients have been met.
The Asia Foundation and The Kiwanis International Philippine South District have achieved a solid partnership in service the past three years. In each distributed book, they greatly influence not only the minds of children, but also their hopes by giving them the opportunity to discover.
